Why do conservatives act so mentally deficient? It turns out they may actually be mentally deficient. Check this shiat out:

Conservatives--particularly tough-on-crime, pro-military conservatives--have a more pronounced startle reflex, measured by eye-blink length after hearing a sudden loud noise. Furthermore, when showed threatening images--maggots in an open wound, a large spider on someone's face--conservatives displayed a greater galvanic skin response, caused by subliminal increases in sweat gland activity. These traits are linked to high activity in the amygdala, center of emotional processing and seat of the fear response. Liberals displayed these reactions as well--the fight-or-flight response is universal--but in conservatives, it was stronger, faster, and more pervasive. This also explains why liberals who are placed under stress, time pressure, or emotional duress are more likely to endorse conservative viewpoints they would not have otherwise espoused.

And then there are the liberals and the anterior cingulate cortex, or ACC. Its role in the brain is somewhat more complicated, but there is still general scientific consensus that it is involved in error detection and conflict monitoring, and ultimately cognitive control. Consider a 2007 work published in Nature Neuroscience, one of the earliest political neuroscience studies. The researchers hypothesized that liberals have more active ACCs, since they are more flexible and intellectually innovative, and more tolerant of uncertainty. Then they proved as much by having liberals and conservatives perform a classic test for conflict monitoring, of the sort that the ACC is thought to govern.

It's called a "Go-No-Go" task: Study subjects are put in a situation where they are required to quickly tap a keyboard when they see "M" on screen--and become habituated to doing so. But one fifth of the time, the screen instead flashes a "W," and respondents have to quickly change their behavior and not tap the keyboard. Liberals performed better at the task--they were less likely to commit a 'D'oh!' and tap the keyboard at the wrong time--and they also showed more anterior cingulate cortex activity when engaging in the corrective response. This study was subsequently replicated by another research team, using a Canadian sample, who also linked more brain firing in the task to egalitarianism, and less firing to right-wing authoritarianism.

It is not difficult to interpret this finding: Liberal's greater anterior cingulate cortex activity indicates their greater cognitive flexibility and willingness to update and change their beliefs and responses vis-a-vis changing cues and situations.

The guy's an authoritarian. Whether it's assaulting the gay kid for looking gay, impersonating a police officer for a laugh, or harassing people in public for living their lives as they see fit to, you can count on one thing: Any move Romney makes will be a dick move.

The GOP's strategy seems aimed at making him look weak and indecisive and powerless. This will work on those in the Deep South and maybe parts of the West, but it isn't going to fly with the rest of the nation (for the most part). People have seen what he has done and his actions have proven their words hallow.

Romney, by action and word, has shown himself weak, inept, unorganized, lacking any kind of charisma, confused, contradictory and basically everything that shows everyone that he is a weak leader. Obama's team and the primaries have exposed this so well that he's left with 'b-b-b-b-b-but Obama and media' claims. He's left clinging to his old mormon view of being persecuting in perpetuity.

Having said all that, I'm still not sold that most of America is seeing this. The absolute blitzkrieg of monies this election year is going to cloud a lot of minds.

In this day and age, I'd be more concerned if a candidate claimed that he had never used illegal drugs. I'd be even more concerned if I actually believed him. Smoking a lot of weed and an even occasional toot of coke in your teenage years/early 20's is not a concern. Now, if somebody came out and said, "I shot up heroin on an 8-hour schedule for three years in my mid-twenties", that'd give me a little pause.

This reminds me of Eminem on the movie 8 Mile where he trashes himself preemptively leaving the other guy with nothing to say. Obama knew this dirt would come out one day so he told all in his book. Now he can say "So? I was honest with the American people about this BEFORE I ran for president. Ancient news and there is nothing else to talk about."

So in short Obama has shared his past and left it up to us to decide. Rmoney won't share his past because "I'm simply not enthusiastic about giving them hundreds or thousands of more pages to pick through, distort and lie about and show all the ways I have avoided paying taxes,"

Wow, this is a genuine opportunity to have an adult conversation about the consequences of drug use and the way that many people can use it responsibly and with restraint allowing it to be considered someth-

Willie Geist would like to remind you right-wing assholes that YOU are the party of family values and draconian moral values. You are the party of needless chicken f*cking over shiat no one cares about. You are more likely to be doing bad things with corn holes and eight-balls than Democrats.

... Do they realize all Obama has to do is say "Yes. I have opened the book to my past, and admitted that I did these things in the past, opening myself to scrutiny and, yes, criticism. Why won't Romney do the same, and open his tax records up?" to completely turn this around on Romney?

I know my doctor. In as much as I go see him occasionally and chat it up while he figures out what's wrong with me and if I meet him in public we talk.

I don't hang out with him for 20 years, let him perform my wedding, and baptize my children, and then pretend like I had no idea what kind of person he was.

I know my friends that I've had for years. I know precisely what kind of people they are. Apparently Obama can't say the same thing.

Willie Geist would like to remind the short bus riders in this thread that Obama wrote off Rev. Wright awhile back. And he didn't say "I retroactively revoke my time at that church." He just acted like a normal human being and told the guy he can't be part of his act.

Should such a serious issue be discussed in such an impersonal setting? Why not we just discuss this over a cup of coffee? It's not like we're in some pyramid scheme cult that would forbid us from such mundane, ordinary behavior as drinking a cup of coffee, right? Like, who'd fall for that load of horse shiat? As you were saying, about Obama once trying coke in the 80s?